BioWare at Dragon*Con

Are you in Atlanta this weekend? Make sure you don't miss out on Dragon*Con! BioWare is returning to Atlanta for the first time in many years with Dragon Age Lead Writer David Gaider and Community Specialist 'Evil' Chris Priestly attending the event.

If you have tickets to Dragon*Con, you can follow Evil Chris Priestly to learn where they are at the con. They want to meet up with our fans and look forward to discussing BioWare, Dragon Age and Mass Effect with you. It is also your chance to record a message for 'Evil' Chris to take back to the BioWare studio. Give your feedback on a game, show off your costume or say what you want to see coming from BioWare in the future.

David and Chris are also on a number of different panels during the convention, so check out their schedules:

Friday August 31

Title: Games People Play.
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Embassy D-F ' Hyatt (Length: 1)
Description: So, you've written a game'video, computer RPG'What happens now? David Gaider participating.

Saturday September 1

Title: Meet BioWare
Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: 209 / 210 / 211 ' Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: BioWare's games have delighted us all for two decades. What's their secret? How do they make great products we love? Come find out! Both David Gaider and Chris Priestly participating.

Title: Creating Characters in Video Games
Time: Sat 05:30 pm Location: Capitol Ballroom ' Sheraton (Length: 1)
Description: David Gaider of Dragon Age and Avellone of Fallout, and Felicia Day, who voiced both, discuss the creation of characters in video games. David Gaider participating.

Title: Sex in Videogames
Time: Sat 10:00 pm Location: 209 / 210 / 211 ' Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: Games are often found at the intersection of sexuality and sexism. Hear how games from Bioware tackle issues like sex, gay romance, and inclusiveness. David Gaider participating.

Sunday September 2

Title: Writing for Videogames
Time: Sun 10:00 am Location: 209 / 210 / 211 ' Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: Dozens of endings! Hours of branching dialogue! Enjoy lively discussion of world-class writers of Dragon Age, Saint's Row, Infinity Blade, and more. David Gaider participating.

Monday September 3

Title: Reaching the Fans
Time: Mon 11:30 am Location: 209 / 210 / 211 ' Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: You can't make everyone happy all the time'but what if it's your job? Come hear how community managers keep their fans happy and engaged. Chris Priestly participating.

Even if you do not have tickets to Dragon*Con you can watch the famed Dragon*Con costume parade as it walks down Peachtree street. The 2012 Dragon*Con Parade is scheduled for Saturday, September 1 at 10:00 AM on Peachtree Street in Downtown Atlanta. The parade route will start at Woodruff Park at the corner of Auburn Ave and Peachtree Street, continue North on Peachtree Street to Baker Street, and take a final turn onto Courtland Street. We have many fans walking in both Mass Effect and Dragon Age in the parade, so come out and cheer them on.

David and 'Evil' Chris hope to see you in Atlanta at Dragon*Con.

From the Desk of Billy Buskell: Creating Leviathan

Hello, my name is Billy Buskell. I'm the producer of the Mass Effect 3 downloadable pack, Leviathan.

The team in Edmonton started work on the Leviathan pack just shortly after launching Mass Effect 3 in March of this year. We all took quick vacation breaks between completing the main game and jumping into the thick of DLC creation to get recharged and refocused.

Throughout the final year of development on Mass Effect 3, the team had started to think of some additional stories we hoped to tell. We wanted to tell a story that would help tell the player more about Shepard's background and that would help tie up threads within the Mass Effect universe. The idea to go back and explore more about a fabled 'genetically engineered starship,' an urban legend within the franchise, was incredibly tempting. The Leviathan of Dis was only hinted at in the first Mass Effect game, but it had caught the attention of several fans, even leading to several theories and fan-fic about what it was and what it meant to the overall universe.

Because of the mysterious nature of the Leviathan, the team also started to think of how we could craft that mystery in the game. How could we have the player solve a mystery? We wanted the player to do the solving for themselves. This led to the idea of finding clues within the pack and that these threads would then lead the player to a central location where they could piece the puzzle back together, knowing there may always be more pieces to discover. In Leviathan, we give the players a brand new way to locate clues throughout their journey and to use those clues in a new in-game system to help track down new locations to visit.

This led to our next goal. Exploration was going to be a major part of Leviathan. In any BioWare game, there is exploration, but we wanted to take this idea even further in Leviathan. Exploration has typically meant creating additional space in a location or environment where the player can spend some time, find some cool loot, learn more about the story and universe, and trigger new quests within the larger story. For Leviathan, exploration meant adding more of this but also having a variety of diverse locations to travel to, and those locations would then present new areas to explore: everything from searching through facilities, vertical movement throughout a level and combat, and, for the first time in the Mass Effect series, controlling your movement in an underwater environment.

Leviathan will also introduce new weapons previously only available in our co-op multiplayer mode or through pre-order bonuses.

So, as you can see, the team has been very busy this year. We hope you enjoy playing Mass Effect 3: Leviathan, and we look forward to your feedback.

Billy

Discuss This

I Speak the Truth!!

Top of the line security, huh? Hmph. I don't think so! I've successfully hacked into the Alliance News Network's terminal, but this isn't a safe connection and I can't stay long. I don't want to reveal my location on the Citadel and give C-Sec the advantage. I must be heard! Go read about everything that Hackett is trying to cover up! I am Bernard Plim and I speak the truth! Conspiracy Accountability League

Operation: ALLOY Success!

From: Admiral Steven Hackett
Re: Operation ALLOY
Confidentiality Classification: XB-PRIME
Distribution: N7 Forces Only

Soldiers of the Milky Way '

It is now common knowledge that Operation ALLOY did not go strictly as planned. Sweeps in what should have been relatively low-risk areas were met with heavy enemy resistance. Fortunately, reports from the field indicate that our troops persevered and were able to strike back. I've already been informed of a number of well-deserved promotions. In light of these reports, Operation ALLOY has been deemed a success.

Over the next few days you'll likely hear many stories about our talented new recruits. I would also like to congratulate the experienced soldiers who fought alongside them. It is under your guidance and leadership that these new recruits excelled. They are now prepared to join our forces on the front lines, and we are all stronger for it.

While we celebrate Operation ALLOY's success, we need to be aware that the unexpected resistance faced by our soldiers may be symptomatic of a larger issue. We've been receiving a number of strange reports that are inconsistent with our knowledge of Reaper ground troop movement. At this point, intel is vague at best. Rest assured we are pursuing the matter.

'Admiral Hackett

 

PC: 67,573

PS3: 28,398

Xbox: 166,778

TOTAL: 262,749!

Discuss This

BioWare at PAX Prime

It's that time of year again and we couldn't be more excited! Sure, the end of summer also means the end of summer vacation, but before you go fishing all those fall sweaters from the back of your closet, there's still one thing left to do: Head to Seattle, Washington for PAX 2012! We'll be there, and we want to see YOU!

PAX is the perfect setting to celebrate the video game industry and shine a spotlight on the process of making great video games. It's also a chance for us to step out from behind our computer monitors and meet all of our amazing fans in person!

Of course, there will be more than just our smiling faces awaiting you at the show. Be sure to swing on by the BioWare Base located on the second floor of the Convention Center in room 2B. We've planned a series of panels designed to give you a peek under the hood of the games industry. The theater only seats 180, so arrive early to guarantee your spot. If the theater fills up, don't worry. This schedule of panels will repeat all three days of the show except where otherwise noted.

• 10:00                     BioWare Theatre Opens
• 10:10-11:00         Writing and Character Creation Panel
  • Mike Laidlaw, Cathleen Rootsaert, Karin Weekes, Kate Fleck, Jay Watamaniuk
• 12:10-1:00           Voice Acting for Video Games
  • Caroline Livingstone, Karin Weekes, Mike Laidlaw, Ali Hillis
  • Friday only: Jennifer Hale
• 1:10-2:00              Ali Hills Signings
  • Ali Hillis
• 2:10-3:00              Recruitment HR/Panel
  • Leanne Korotash, Chris Pangrass, Jeferson Valadares, Mike Gamble
• 3:10-4:00              Being an Artist in the Video Game Industry + Portfolio Review
  • Matt Rhodes, Peter Lipman, Nelson Housden
• 5:10-6:00              Inside the Development Process
  • Mike Gamble, Rick Knowles, Jeferson Valadares, Jeff Skalski, Nelson Housden, Matt Rhodes
• 6:10-7:00              Developer Signings (Friday/Sunday only)
  • Available Staff
• 6:10-7:00              Cosplayer Meet Up & Trivia Challenge (Saturday only)
  • Holly Conrad

Can't make the trip to Seattle to be there in person? We've got you covered! We'll be bringing the experience home to you through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For even more exclusive coverage of the event, Twitter users can follow along as community team members Jessica Merizan and David Hulegaard chronicle their jet lagged PAX experiences with cameras. That can't possibly end badly!

For those attending PAX, we can't wait to meet you and indulge in all the gaming goodness together. We may even have some swag to give away, so you'll want to keep an eye on Twitter updates from Bioware. And for those of you not attending PAX, we're sorry to miss you, but we'll do our best to provide you with updates featuring all of our shenanigans. You definitely won't want to miss out!

Discuss This

Operation: ALLOY

Operation ALLOY (August 24^th 11AM MDT ' August 26^th 5AM MDT)

A training center will only take a recruit so far. Our recruits need field experience, so it's time to integrate them with seasoned squads during our next series of sweeps.

Individual Goal: Promote 2 characters

Allied Goal: Promote 50,000 characters

Special Circumstance: None

Individual Goal Success: All players awarded a Commendation Pack
Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack and an increase to medi-gel capacity

Leviathan DLC Officially Dated

We are very pleased to officially announce that the Mass Effect 3 Leviathan single-player DLC will be released on August 28^th, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Please note that on Playstation 3 in Europe, it will be available on August 29th.

To help us celebrate this joyous occasion, we are also releasing a fresh batch of Leviathan wallpapers for you to enjoy. Get 'em here.

Operation: OLYMPUS Success!

From: Admiral Steven Hackett
Re: Operation OLYMPUS
Confidentiality Classification: XB-PRIME
Distribution: N7 Forces Only

Soldiers of the Milky Way '

I am pleased to report that Operation OLYMPUS has netted us extremely valuable intel. With N7 troops engaging the enemy, the Resistance was able to lure a Reaper destroyer into a kill zone and bring it down. They were able to retrieve portions of its memory databases before withdrawing from the battlefield.

While we do not yet know what this new data will reveal, rest assured it will be put to good use. I don't need to tell you that logs from a Reaper's memory could prove invaluable. If we can decipher when and why it received the orders it did, we can start to predict their battle strategies, and that improves our chances both on Earth and throughout the galaxy.

The geth viewed the Reapers as gods, creatures beyond our understanding. We know that's not true. We may not have knocked them off their pedestal today, but we have come one step closer to seeing them fall.

' Admiral Hackett

Quite the amazing rally guys!

Bronze total: 253,408
Silver total: 206,386
Gold total: 89,198

As a reward for such an Olympic effort there's a special something in the pack for you.

What is a Community?

We recently posted an innocent looking piece of fan art on Facebook that was created by one of our community members. The image playfully mashed up the themes of Mass Effect and My Little Pony, depicting the Pinkie Pie character in N7 armor. We thought it was hilarious and wanted to let the rest of our community in on the fun. Those of you that had front row seats during the aftermath know that's not exactly what happened.

Even though the image was posted in jest, it raised the ire of a portion of our Facebook community. Some fans felt compelled to 'unlike' our page, while others even went as far as to post their intention to 'sell all their Mass Effect games.'

It got me thinking: What exactly is a social media community, and what is its true purpose?

It is my belief that the purpose of a social media community is to create a place where people from all over the world can gather, linked by their shared affection of a particular passion. It sounds almost Utopian, doesn't it? A little corner of the internet reserved just for us where we can go and interact with like-minded fans.

At BioWare, we think of our fans as our extended family, and as within any family, there are bound to be times when we won't always see eye-to-eye. Sometimes Uncle Jay is going to root against your favorite sports team. Sometimes cousin Sue is going to wear socks with sandals. And sometimes, just sometimes, we're going to post pictures of little pink ponies sworn to protect the galaxy from Reapers.

We support our community's desire to be creative and share with us. Our talented fans send us all types of content, from painstakingly detailed fan art and cosplay photos to music and poetry inspired by our games. We try to showcase as many of them as we can, and hope that the community will find it all as fascinating as we do.

We strive to provide a community that offers a little something for everyone, and as such, new content is always being gathered for future posts. We take the work that we do very seriously, but we also believe that a good sense of humor is healthy. Doesn't everyone enjoy a good laugh?

If you don't enjoy a particular post, that's okay. You can't please everyone, as they say. However, rather than become hostile and turn against the community, we have an alternate suggestion: Create something better. Instead of raving about what you don't like, show us an example of something that appeals to you.

Remember, it's your feedback that helps to shape the community, but you're always going to catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Be good to one another.

 

~ David Hulegaard, Social Media Coordinator

BioWare at Geek Girl Con

Hey everyone!
Community Manager Jessica Merizan here to wax nostalgic and talk about this year's Geek Girl Con! There's something really special about Geek Girl Con for me. I attended event's inaugural weekend last year, newly hired to BioWare, meeting the developers that attended for the first time. I was afraid they would all hate me, but they did not! Or at least they've hidden it quite well for the past year

I'm very proud to say that BioWare's company culture fosters amazing personalities and I learned a lot from hanging out with some of the BioWare women that weekend. They taught me that there is no such thing as the 'female perspective' when it comes to video games because consumers even within the same demographic have such delightfully varied tastes and styles (more on that later). The women who went to Geek Girl Con with me last year, and the ones attending this year, are really brilliant developers who happen to also be women. It's similar to the mindset we take to our characters. Strong, multi-faceted characters who are not solely defined by their gender, race, species, or taste in wheels of cheese.

But enough of me sitting here and feeling pleased about the state of the world. If you're coming to Geek Girl Con this Saturday and Sunday in Seattle, we want to meet you! I'll be joined by the following developers who bring with them quite a bit of moxie:

Karin Weekes (senior editor)
Melanie Fleming (audio/localization external producer)
Mary Kirby (writer)
Kris Schoneberg (level designer)
Raylene Deck (level designer)
Sheryl Chee (writer)
Sarah Hayward (cinematic designer)

We'll be presenting the following panels:

Saturday 3:00 PM ' 3:50 PM
Get Your Game On: Shop Talk with the Ladies of BioWare ' RM303
The 'Designing Women of BioWare' were thrilled and honored to be part of GeekGirlCon '11. They are back this year for more chatting and interaction! Female developers from across BioWare will answer your questions about developing games, how to get a job in game development, and whatever else you'd like to know about.
Presented by Mary Kirby, Raylene Deck, Sarah Hayward, Karin Weekes, Melanie Fleming; Moderated by Jessica Merizan

Sunday 11:30 AM ' 12:20 PM
The Myth of 'The Female Gamer Perspective' ' RM303
We all know that considerably fewer women than men work in game design; those of us that do are often called upon to 'represent the female audience.' At BioWare, we're lucky to have quite a few women working here, and we represent a pretty wide range of backgrounds, tastes, and gaming styles. We certainly don't have a singular gaming perspective.We'd like to talk with you about why there's probably no such thing and how games should be designed accordingly.
Presented by Sheryl Chee, Kris Schoneberg, Melanie Fleming, Sarah Hayward, Jessica Merizan; moderated by Karin Weekes

And when I'm not running around on panels, snapping photos of amazing cosplayers (alas! I have retired my Ashley costume!), and running into friends I only ever see at conventions, I'll be hanging out at the Gaming Lounge with some lovely ladies from EA and Popcap! Come and play your favorite console and PC games. And more importantly, come say 'Hi!' (be sure to tell me your BSN or Twitter handle and what your profile picture is ' I have a strange talent for remembering usernames). Holly Conrad, our resident FemShep and BioWare creature costumer, will also be attending ' see if you can spot her out of costume!

For those of you who are not able to attend, keep an eye on our Facebook / Twitter / Instagram for updates and photos from the event! We always try to bring you a fun Virtual Con experience so everyone can live viciously without ever stepping on a plane.

If you have any questions about this event or have an event in mind that you think we should be at, tweet at me @jessicamerizan and let's chat!

See you at the Con!

Discuss this.

Operation: OLYMPUS

Operation OLYMPUS (August 10^th-12^th)

Increased Reaper activity has been reported around London. Operation OLYMPUS will focus large-scale strikes on the Reapers to buy the Resistance time to investigate.

Squad Goal: Full extraction from Firebase London using any Kit on any difficulty

Allied Goal: Using any Kit/ Map combination against any enemy, complete wave 10 on a combined community total of 200,000 Bronze missions, 175,000 Silver missions and 70,000 Gold missions.

Special Circumstance: None

Squad Goal Success: All squad members awarded a Commendation Pack
Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack

Requirement: Mass Effect: Earth must be installed

Mass Effect 3: Firefight Pack

After a thorough sweep of the galaxy, new pipelines within Alliance channels have opened up access to additional firepower to support our efforts. Surviving this war against the Reapers is going to require strength, skill and courage beyond anything you have experienced before, but an added boost to your arsenal may help you tip the scales in our favor once and for all.

Unleash hell with the Firefight Pack! Firefight adds seven weapons for use in the single-player campaign: the Indra and Krysae sniper rifles, Reegar Carbine, Harrier battle rifle, Geth SMG, plus an all-new Blood Pack Punisher SMG and Adas Anti-Synthetic rifle!

Available now on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3! Cost is $2.00 or 160 MS points.

Why are you releasing the Firefight Pack?

• Many players have requested the ability to use their favorite multiplayer weapons during the single-player campaign. The community asked, and we responded!

Will the Firefight Pack unlock these weapons in multiplayer?

• No. The Firefight Pack is for the single-player campaign only.

After I buy this pack, when will I have access to the guns?

• Once the Firefight Pack has been downloaded, players will be able to access the new guns the next time they open their locker.

How much does it cost?

• The Firefight Pack is $2.00 or 160 MS points.

Aren't all of these guns already available in multiplayer?

• No. In addition to gaining access to some of the cool new multiplayer weapons for your single-player campaign, you'll also get two amazing new guns never before seen anywhere else, plus one ultra-rare weapon only available previously as a limited promotional item!

 

Mass Effect 3 Leviathan & Firefight DLC and Wii U information

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan

Today we are pleased to announce a new Story-Driven Single Player DLC for Mass effect 3 ' Leviathan!

Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late. Coming later this summer there is no war, only the harvest.

Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3, players will be thrust into the darkest corners of space where they will hunt a mysterious being rumored to be powerful enough to destroy a Reaper. As they race against time, they will begin to unravel the secret of the Leviathan. Explore uncharted systems and new areas on the Citadel, interact with brand new characters, unlock the AT-12 Raider shotgun and M-55 Argus Assault Rifle and discover more about the mysterious history of the Reapers. Available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Cost is $10 or 800 Microsoft points.

Firefight Weapons Pack

But that is not all. Players will soon be able to arm themselves with the Firefight Pack, a new Single Player Weapon Pack available for download August 7. Available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Cost is $2 or 160 Microsoft points. The Firefight Pack will feature two powerful new weapons and five bonus weapons to use in the fight to Take Back Earth!

Mass Effect 3 Wii U

BioWare is thrilled to launch our first ever title on a Nintendo console and our Mass Effect team is very proud to have the critically acclaimed Mass Effect 3 experience brought to the Wii U as a launch title.

Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U features a brand new control scheme designed to incorporate the Wiipad. It will also feature bonus DLC including the Extended Cut, an Interactive back story covering previous events in the Mass Effect universe, and Mass Effect 3's critically acclaimed Multiplayer experience.